1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an electric device and a pivot mechanism thereof, and more particularly to an electric device having the adjustment function by three stages of forces, and a pivot mechanism thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various electric devices are rapidly developed and updated, and a part of the electric devices are placed on a table via a supporting crutch such that the user can use the device or devices. Example of a flat panel display, the user often has to adjust the angle of the flat panel display relative to the table so as to provide a comfortable viewing angle.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a conventional flat panel display 9 under a used state. Referring to FIG. 1, the flat panel display 9 includes a display main body 91, a supporting crutch 92, a pivot mechanism 93 and a base 94. The pivot mechanism 93 connects the display main body 91 to the supporting crutch 92. The display main body 91 is rotated around the supporting crutch 92 through the pivot mechanism 93 so that the viewing angle is adjusted. The supporting crutch 92 is inserted into the base 94, which is placed on a table HP, to provide a center of gravity for the flat panel display 9.
As shown in FIG. 1, the pivot mechanism 93 is a two-stage pivot. When the flat panel display 9 is in the used state, the display main body 91 may be rotated to a first position P91 or a second position P92 through the pivot mechanism 93. The user may easily apply a force F to push the display main body 91 such that the display main body 91 is rotated from the first position P91 to the second position P92. The user may further push the display main body 91 by the force F to rotate the display main body 91 from the second position P92 to the first position P91. When the display main body 91 is being rotated, the display main body 91 may stay at any place between the first position P91 and the second position P92 so that the most comfortable viewing angle for the user may be adjusted.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the flat panel display of FIG. 1 under a packed state. The flat panel display 9 of FIG. 1 has the substantially T-shaped structure composed of the display main body 91 and the base 94. So, the packaged T-shaped structure of the flat panel display 9 occupies a lot of space. In order to reduce the package space and the cost of the package material, the base 94 is configured to be separable from the supporting crutch 92, and the display main body 91 is adjusted to the first position P91, such that the display main body 91 is parallel to the supporting crutch 92 and the packaged size of the flat panel display 9 is minimized.
However, when the flat panel display 9 is in the used state, the user can easily adjust the viewing angle of the display main body 91. In the process of adjusting the viewing angle of the display main body 91, the display main body 91 tends to be tilted forward to the first position P91 and knock the user. In addition, when the display main body 91 is positioned at the first position P91, the center of gravity of the flat panel display 9 is tilted forward, which tends to make the flat panel display 9 careen or even crash. Thus, it is an important subject of the invention to solve the above-mentioned problems.